Thursday, November 19, 2015

Why I do not worry about terrorism

I do not worry about terrorism for four reasons.

First, as I explained in last Ethical Musings'
post, "Responding
to the Paris attacks," terrorists have never prevailed against a
democratic government. Terrorism poses no real threat to the United States or
other democratic nations as long as we hold fast to our cherished political
values of freedom, respect for others, and self-determination. Terrorist attacks
are likely to occur, a relative handful of people will become casualties (about
479 in the Paris attacks, counting killed and wounded, which is a tragic but negligible
percent of France's 66 million residents).

Second, I personally can do almost nothing to avoid
being injured or killed in a terrorist attack. However, I also am confident
that democratic governments take every reasonable step to avoid future
terrorist attacks. In fact, my concern is just the opposite. Governments take
not only every reasonable step but also many steps that are unreasonable.
Unreasonable steps include measures that (1) are not cost-effective (e.g., the
cost of armed air marshals flying on US commercial airliners far exceeds any
potential benefit), (2) fail (government tests repeatedly show the multi-billion
dollar Transportation Security Administration's passenger screening is
ineffectual), or (3) tacitly cede victory to terrorists (e.g., invasive government
data collection and mining that destroys personal privacy and freedom). Political
leaders and government officials are now so afraid of the public blaming them
for any terror attack that occurs that governments seek to implement both every
reasonable and unreasonable measure to avoid a future terrorist attack.
Unfortunately, terrorists have too many targets from which to choose to make the
goal of preventing all future attacks feasible.

Third, terrorists kill very few people. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ten leading causes of death
in the United States in 2013 were:

Heart
disease: 611,105

Cancer:
584,881

Chronic
lower respiratory diseases: 149,205

Accidents
(unintentional injuries): 130,557

Stroke
(cerebrovascular diseases): 128,978

Alzheimer's
disease: 84,767

Diabetes:
75,578

Influenza
and Pneumonia: 56,979

Nephritis,
nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 47,112

Intentional
self-harm (suicide): 41,149

War ranked as the #112 cause of death; terrorism
did not even make the list. Although I cannot do much to prevent dying in some
of these ways, I choose to focus my energy and efforts on taking measures to
achieve realistic goals. I exercise regularly, eat and drink in moderation, use
sunscreen, do not smoke, have an annual flu shot, try to maintain mental
health, etc. These measures do more to improve my quality and of life and
longevity than anything that I can do to prevent becoming a casualty in a terrorist
attack. Furthermore, since I do not live in fear of heart disease, cancer, and
other leading causes of death, realizing that I will inevitably die, I see absolutely
no reason to live in fear of the statistically insignificant threat that
terrorists pose.

Fourth, and in view of the foregoing, I recognize
that the media finds reporting about terrorism exciting and rewarding. A never-ending,
24/7 news cycle, generates an insatiable demand for new stories. The stories
that captivate the most public attention are immediate, dramatic, and filled
with pathos. Reporting about terror attacks fits those specifications. I, for
one, believe that effective, just counterterrorism depends upon not allowing the
mass media to dictate my political priorities, personal values, or emotional
responses to terrorism, terror attacks, or terrorists.

I don't literally worry about terrorism, or violent crime. But while I don't worry about them, they do influence a few of my minor behaviors.

I don't think Jesus worried about his security. But he appears to have practiced some low cost, pragmatic security measures at times (selective avoidance, traveling in a group). Some of his disciples apparently had a sword or two, I assume as a deterrent to banditry.